Stars can’t crack Coyotes, Jamie Benn leaves game after big hit

The Dallas Stars had been on a roll on the road lately, racking up both wins and goals. But they ran into a roadblock Saturday night in Phoenix, falling 2-1 to the Coyotes.

Phoenix built a 2-0 lead in the game and then held off the Stars, who had a four-game road points streak snapped and lost in regulation for just the second time in their last nine road games (6-2-1).

“We should have got a point. 2-0 against these guys, it’s not easy to come back,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “We had lots of time and chances, we just didn’t convert. Better fate, I don’t know. I wish we could have got a point out of here.”

The Stars not only lost the game, they also lost center Jamie Benn late in the contest. Benn headed to the locker room just over a minute left in the game after he was leveled by a hit in the Phoenix zone by Coyotes center Martin Hanzal. Gulutzan had no update on Benn’s status after the game. There was no penalty on the play.

“I thought it was late, but that’s not for me to decide,” Gulutzan said of the hit.